Fastening device for wooden boxes and the like



H. MERKEL AND J. BUECHER. .FASTENXNG DEVICE FOR WOODEN BOXES AND THE LIKE. APPLICATION mm) SEPT 11,1920

1,410,210. 4 Patented Mar.21,1922.

. 5 JQ MI/W W UNITEDTSTATES PATENT OFFICE.

HERMAN MERKEL, or EAs'r ORANGE, AND JACOB BUECI-IER, or NEWARK, NEW JERSEY; SAID BUECI-IER ASSIGNOR T0 sen) MERKEL.

FASTENING DEVICE FOR WOODEN BOXES AND THE LIKE.

To all whom it may concern:

Be it known that we, Hnmrax MERKEL and Jason BUECHER, citizens of the United States, and residents of East Orange, county of Essex, and State of New Jersey, and Newark, county of Essex, and State of New Jersey, respectively, have invented certain new and useful Improvements in Fastoning Devices for lVooden Boxes and the like, of which the following is a specifica tion.

This invention relates to an' improved fastening device mainly employed for holding parts of wooden boxes and the like together so that the parts can not be separated except by Inultilating the box at that point, and such devices are largely used to prevent theft from boxes in transportation. The invention relates to a clip including spaced" perforated plates, and particularly to a particular form of nail which, after bieing' driven through the wood of the box and through the perforations in the plates, can not be withdrawn.

The invention is illustrated in the accompanying drawing, in which Figure 1 is a section showing part of the. side wall and the cover of a box with the fastening de vice in position. Figure 2 is a section 'on line 22 in Figure 1. Figure 3 is a top view of a clip used in the device, and Figure 4- is a section similar to Figure 2, but showing no part of the box and illustrating the nail in several positions it assumes by being driven into position- In the drawing; we will assume that 10 is the the side wall of a wooden box and ll. is the lid, although it will be evident that this clip can housed in all parts, on the bottom, sides and top, where these elements are joined. The first step is to drive into position, usuallyby means of a hammer, a pair of perforated plates which for convenience I join together by a lip so as to form a clip. In the form shown the clip consists of the lip' l2'which is bentat its ends to form the perforated plates 13 and 14, which are usually joined, as at 15, to facilitate their entrance into the wood, and when it is desired to use a lighter weight of metal the proper stiffness can be contributed by providing these plates with corrugations 16.

Perforations 17 and 18 are placed in the plates 13 and 14., respectively, these per- Serial No. 409,617.

forationsbeing adapted to receive. a nail. The clip is driven so that one of its plates enters one of the elements, such. as the side 10, and the other plate enters the other. element, such as the cover 11, thus assisting in holding them together.

The nail, to hold the clip in position and to preventits withdrawal, must, in order to guard the device againstunauthorized removal, be permanently fastened, and the nail described herein is insured, when once driven into position, against withdrawal through the perforations and the clip can. not be removed unless the material of the box is broken apart. at that point. This prevents the removal of any part of the contents of the box and prevents the depredation very often common in transportation where furs'and similar expensive articles are withdrawn frompacking boxes and the like by a slight raising of the lid, and after a part of theicontents is removed the lid again hammered shut,so that there is no detectionof the loss'until the boxes are unpacked at their "destination.

. The nail'that we provide is usually made of fiat material, the shank 19 of the nail being usually providedwith a head. 20 and being further provided with teeth on its opposite edges. these teeth being, disposed so that the tapered edges between the teeth engage the side edges of the perforations17 'andlR and cause the nail to take different angular 'ortilted positions successively as the nail is driven through the perforations in the plates. andif thereis any attempt to withdraw the nail after itis in position the teeth engage the side edges o'f these perforations and the-nail can not be pulled out. Y

v The teeth are preferably made in pairs, the illustrationshowingtwo pairs or series,

an upper series and a lower series, the teeth I 21 and 122 comprising 'thefupper. series, and

the teeth 23'and 24L comprising-the lower series. -The end of the-nail ispointed usually with a pronounced taper, as at 25, and when it is driven down through the cover 11 and enters the perforation 17 it fits tightly; in fact the width of the nail at the point where the teeth 24 is situated can be slightly in excess of the diameter of the opening 17, but in thiscase it will slightly upset the edge'of theperforation and pass through,but since the teeth 23 and 24, in

Iatented, Mar. 2,1, 192.2.

fact the teeth of both series, are separated. by a space slightly in excess of the width of the material or which the plates 13 and 14 are made, the tapered edge 26 forces the nail laterally as the tooth 245has cleared the plate 13. andthis lateral motion causes a slight tilting of the nail until the tooth 23 has passed through the perforation 17.

The tapered edge 27 between the teeth24i and 22 now causes the nail to be tilted in the other direction, as is shown in Figure 4.- in dotted outline until the tooth 21 has passed through the perforation 17, and by this time the point 25 has entered the perforation 18. The tapered edge 28 now engages the edgeof the perforation 17 and the tooth 21 is moved laterally as the nail isdriven so that it is underneath the edge the plate13, and after the tooth 22 has cleared the perforation 17, the tapered edge 27-; hearing against the edge of the perforatibn '18, with the tapered edges 28 and 29 entering the perforation 17 stra-ightens up the nail; and-when it is driven down until the head is'flush with the top of the bo'i: the nail assumes theposition shown in Figure2.

lVhenfthe nail is moved upward in an attempt to withdraw it from this position by a tool seated under the head 20, the teeth willengage thebottom edges of the plates 13 and 14 and it is impossible to withdraw the nail back through these perforations, and thenail is tilted in one direction to clear orient the teeth the inclination of the'nail will cause a tooth on the opposite side thereof to engage one of the plates. Of course the successive inclinations of the nail are at 'but slight angles, and since it is guided by the inclined faces passing tlirou'gh the perforations no care is necesany driving the nail into position.

VVeprefer to make the top of the head '20 rhund'ed, as at 3'0, and in Figure 2 the n "apprefnimately the same as the distancejbeshowing is rather conventional since the matetial BLby afewiblows of the hammet when the nail is being seated, forces thefsoft wood of which these boxes are matle soithat it'is pressed inward over the head of the nail. This eliminates any chance of'there being sharp proj ections to injure the hands er workmen handling the It will be' noted that the upper and lower series oflteethareseparated by afdistance tween the plates, and we find by making the upper tooth of the lower series and the lower tooth 2 l of the upper series on the same Side of the naihthat'the disposition of; the teeth is such as to bring about the best results to prevent withdrawal.

It will be evident that slight changes can be made in the shape of the parts without departingfrom .th'e'sc'ope of our invention.

\Ve claim:

1 A fastening device for wooden boxes and the like said device including spaced plates with aligned perforations, and a nail having its edges formed with teeth spaced in amanner to cause-the said edges to engagethe edges of the perforations so that the nail-assumes different angular positions successively as it is driven through the perforations in the plates.

' 2; A fastening dei' icefor wooden boxes and the like,- said device including spaced plates with aligned perforations, and a nail with unevenly spaced rearwardly directed teeth at-its side edges the nail being dircctedrby said edges when passingthrough theperforations so that it is inclined successively to opposite sides whereby the withdrawal of the nail in a straight line is impossible by reason of the engagement of the teeth with the edges of the perforations.

3. A fastening device for wooden boxes and the like comprising a clip having spaced'perforated plates, and anail'havingupper and lower series of teeth; the series being-separated by a distance that is approximately the same as the distance'between the plates, the teeth in each series being separated by a space in excessof the thic'k nessof the platesa 4:. A fastening device for wooden boxes and" the like comprising a clip having spaced perforated plates, and a nail having upper and lower series of teeth, the series being separated by a distance that is approximately the sameas the distance between the plates the teeth'in each series being-separated by a space in excess of the thicl mess of the plates, the lower tooth of the upper series and the upper tooth of the l'ower'series being on the same 'sideofthe nail. if T 1 In testimony that we claim the foregoing, we have hereto setourhands, this10th day of September, 1920; j i 1 a T HERMAN 'MERKEL.

JACOB BUECHER. 

